Need advice on my 1970's Sama

[amkare]

Hi I am brand new to this forum and wanted some advice. I have a Brown Sama espresso machine purchased in the 1970's from Bloomingdales and wonder if it safe to use as it is. It was used maybe 10 times in the 70's a couple of times in the 80's and has sat on the shelf ever since. All parts are there and
and everything looks fine but How do I tell that if I put water in it now it won't explode or something worse?
I guess you wonder why it has had so little use well my husband at the time bought it and died later and I didn't know much about it so it has just sat there. My current husband wants to try it and we bought espresso coffee yesterday at Southern Seasons and had the right grind for it so I pulled it away from the wall and am ready to try. So any advice on what to do would be great or should I just put the water in and hope for the best. Will be awaiting a reply.
Karen Hunter Lexington NC

[peacecup]

There is a brass valve on top of the boiler of my newer Sama (Ponte Vecchio) which is to open if the pressure gets too great. Don't know if yours has one, but likely it does. If you are uncertain, leave the steam wand open a bit while it heats, and you'll hear hissing when it starts to build pressure. If it has not been used for a long time the rubber piston seals are probably not in working order, but you can try. Don't pull down the lever unitl its ready to use - boiler pressure pushes water into the piston, which lubricates the lever.

Really, with so little experience, you may want to bring it to a repair shop for testing. 1 st Line espresso in in NJ, not too far, and they could help.

If you are determined to try it yourself, and have any questions, we can guide you through the operation step by step.

PC

[amkare]

I want to try it but How will I know if my rubber piston seals are ok?
I really would appreciate you walking me through it.
Karen Hunter Lexington NC

[peacecup]

1. Unplug the machine!
2. Open the filler hole and use a funnel to fill the machine. You should not fill it above the level of the sight glass.
3. On second though, fill it halfway, replace the cap, shake it a few times gently, and turn it upside down into a white bowl. If you see a lot of flaky stuff, its scale (hard water leaves this). You'll need to read up on how th clean it, but I guess you can try it. If its very scaly, you risk forcing the dirt into the piston when you use it.
4. No scale, refill the machine replace the cap, and plug it in.
5. Turn it on, but leave the steam valve open a bit - WATCH IT, so when it starts to sputter you can close it,
6. The little round light is the ready light - it will go off (I think, unless yours is reversed) when the machine is ready.
7. When its ready open the steam valve once - steam should come out and the ready light come on again for a minute.
8. Put the portafilter in and pull the lever down - water should come through it into the cup.
9. Fill the basket with coffee, tamp, lock in the filter.
10. Pull the lever down, wait 10 sec., and let the lever rise.
11. You should have espresso. For a double basket I take a second pull, without the 10 sec. wait.

Let me know how it goes.

PC

[amkare]

I know I am green greeen greeeen where this machine is concerned so I appreciate the advice a lot.
I want to know where to find info on how to get the scale out if there is scale in the machine is there a place on this site that discusses that?
you didn't mention anything about the gaskets and I wonder if they are ok will it leak if they are not?
if so where will it leak?
I will do what you say and let you know what happens.
Karen Hunter Lexington NC
ps is there anyone closer than New Jersey who works on these machines LIke maybe ATlanta or Washington DC area

[amkare]

My Sama looks just like the white one in the picture but it is brown. I tried the exercise of putting water in shaking (the darn thing is heavy) and then pouring it into the white bowl and I do have scale. I did it twice and scale came out both times little flecks of it. so I am back to how do you descale the machine or is it worth it.
thanks bunches for the info
Karen Hunter Lexington NC

[orphanespresso]

why don't I ever find stuff like this on our shelves? Descaling....easy, simple chemical process, add descaler in water, heat, rinse repeat. Lots of different descaler products of course, but citric acid is cheapest and likely as good as any.
Are the seals good? If they aren't you will know pretty quickly with water either going everywhere or nowhere, but you have to heat up the machine to tell so there is enough pressure to reveal any leaky seals. If you or someone else has done the "let's play barista" game with dry seals in a long unused machine there is a good chance that this alone is enough to roughen up a seal to the point of leaking. But seals are cheap compared to the machine price these days. The machine takes 3 rubbers in the cylinder and a couple in the steam wand. Simple machine and easy enough to change them yourself.
BTW, nothing life threatening here, more concern about huritng the machine than hurting the human operators.

Doug

[peacecup]

If he'll do a restore on the Sama, one easy option is to carefully double box the machine and send it Priority Mail to Doug at Orphan Espresso in Idaho. He'll get it up and running very fast, and send it right back ready to brew. You have to ask him how much it will cost.

PC

[amkare]

Ok where do I buy citric acid and when I buy it is it ready to use as is or do I mix it with something if so what part to what part?
the man in Idaho that fixes them does anyone know a phone number and address so I can find out about sending the machine to him to be fixed. I have plenty of good packing materials and boxes so thats not a problem.
I am going to try the citric acid descaling first and then test the seals before I send the machine.
when you use the citric acid descaler how do you do it exactly do you pour in and shake machine or let it sit for a while and how many times do you do it so you know the scale is gone?
thanks all of you for the great info
Karen Hunter Lexington NC

[amkare]

sorry to be so dumb but I wonder I found a brand new bottle of Clear Flow that I bought to use on my Mr. Coffee machine and never used. Is it ok for descaling my Sama? If so how should I use it? the back of the bottle says mix 1/3 bottle with water and run through machine but I don't think I should run it through the machine since it might clog the thing. so do I just pour it in and leave it for a while?
or What HELP
Karen Hunter Lexington NC

[mhoy]

Ok where do I buy citric acid and when I buy it is it ready to use as is or do I mix it with something if so what part to what part?

I got mine from a Wine/Beer Brew supply store, 1 lb for less than $6. If you get 4 oz it will last you a long time. (I was descaling a large 5 liter boiler by immersion). Just mix hot water and citric acid powder together.

Mark

[peacecup]

http://www.orphanespresso.com/

He's the guy who posted about the citric acid. I've never had to descale because I lived in a rainforest and the water was completely soft. Three years and no scale. I hope the new locale is as scale-free.

If you're not getting buckets of scale when you empty it upside down it might be ok to have a go at brewing without descaling. Descaling might be the prudent way to go, but I'm usually in too much of a hurry to be prudish.

PC